Doctor issuing forensic reports without having DMJ degree

Islamabad
A medico-legal officer of Polyclinic Hospital who has so far prepared hundreds of forensic reports including that of former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and former National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officer Kamran Faisal never holds required medical degree, putting a big question mark over authenticity of all these reports.
The sources said Dr. Tanveer Afsar Malik holds MBBS and MSPH degrees but he has not done Diploma in Medical Jurisprudence (DMJ) that is a basic requirement for the post of medico-legal officer who is supposed to issue medical legal certificates in criminal cases.
The official data showed that Dr. Tanveer Malik has been serving in Polyclinic Hospital for last five years and he has so far prepared hundreds of medical and forensic reports that resulted in registration of cases and arrest of scores of people.
In February 2013, he presented the preliminary post mortem report in Kamran Faisal case in which he pinned down suicide and not murder as the cause of his death that had occurred in the middle of the inquiry in rental power case also involving former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
Dr. Tanveer Malik was also part of the team that compiled initial post mortem report of murder of former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer that was later examined by a medical board.
It is pertinent to mention here that the medico legal officer lays the groundwork needed for investigating criminal cases and his/her report contains the cause of death, time of death, nature of death and other details compiled in an official form at the time of autopsy that provides the basis for a court case, carrying an impact on the final decision.
The sources said now a question can be raised about authenticity of the forensic and medical reports so far prepared by Dr. Tanveer Malik in high profile cases like murder of former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and death of NAB officer Kamran Faisal.
When contacted, Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Secretary Khalid Hanif told this scribe that it is a startling disclosure that a medico-legal officer of Polyclinic Hospital never holds DMJ certificate and he is going to launch an inquiry into this case.
"The inquiry committee would examine the relevant record and present its findings. If it is proved that Dr. Tanveer Afsar Malik never holds the required degree then necessary action would be taken against the relevant authorities," he said.
Talking to this scribe, Medico-Legal Officer Dr. Tanveer Afsar Malik said he has been working for last thirteen years and has served in different hospitals but on one ever raised a finger to his competence.
He said there was no medical officer available in Polyclinic having DMJ certificate so the administration decided to give this task to me, adding, "I have been fulfilling this task with best of my abilities as I have handled some high profile cases."
To a question, he said nothing illegal has been done because the existing rules allow the administration of the hospital to appoint any doctor as medico- legal officer if no one having DMJ certificate is available.